...won't hurt, now will it? Retail therapy might not be the answer to everything, but that's fine with me.

Monday, October 16, 2017

One Pump of Syrup

I know some people who deny themselves so many innocent pleasures. Like ordering dessert although they would like it. Or choosing one scoop of lemon sorbet even though they are secretly craving 2 scoops of hazelnut praline. Or dragging themselves to the gym even though they would rather finish that good book or meet a friend after work. Don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating undiscriminating overeating with no exercise at all, but the older I become, the less fixated I am on the things you “should do” (says who?!). If I want dessert, I eat dessert...knowing that I won’t pig out every day of the week...probably, but if I do, I will automatically become a bit more disciplined when my favourite jeans start making me look like a sausage close to bursting apart. I can’t even give you a personal realistic example with exercising as I don’t do anything that deserves that name. Then again, I love walking and sometimes take the stairs to my office which is on the 6th floor of the building. Why? Because I am that weird kind of person who actually enjoys climbing stairs. Currently, Starbucks is serving its wildly popular PSL ( that's Pumpkin Spice Latte for the uninitiated). Personally, I simply cannot stomach any of the regular Starbucks concoctions with syrups or whipped cream of any kind, finding them way too sweet, but I do love pumpkin spice. Therefore, I treat myself to one (!) pump of pumpkin spice in my favourite Starbucks beverage in Vienna, the skinny Melange (a double espresso with low-fat frothed mild) quite often when they stock pumpkin spice syrup. One pump only, because I love the extra flavour in my coffee, and not because I want to avoid all those calories of a regular PSL. If I liked it, I would drink it. And no, I don't opt for the skinny milk for diet considerations either. That coffee with one pump of PS is something to look forward to in the morning, as is my daily Starbucks fix as such, for which I actually take a little detour to work. Yes, it's overpriced and yes, I have a Nespresso machine both at home and at the office (and I do use both), but as long as I can afford a treat and it makes me happy, I will not deny myself the pleasure. If I had it every day, I probably would not like it as much, but as it is a seasonal phenomenon, I treasure it while it lasts, as I do seasonal food and drinks in general. But I digress. What I am trying to say is that it makes me sad when people are so strict on themselves and settle for something they don't actually like when they could just as well make their days (if not lives) better by treating themselves. If you don't spoil yourself, you can't expect others to do that either. After all, they might think you actually like lemon sorbet best.